A few thousand honeybees were accidentally released onto the New Jersey Turnpike today, hovering for a few hours along the northbound lanes in Cherry Hill, authorities said.

The swarm formed near the highway when a crate of bees on a passing truck fell off shortly before 2 p.m., said Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the Turnpike Authority. He said the bees did not create any traffic back-up on the highway.

"Those poor bees," said Landi Simone, vice president of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association. "It would be very distressing...it's conceivable that somebody could get stung, because you've got some really confused honeybees there."

The box landed at least 10 feet from traffic heading north from exit 3, and the bees were probably not visible to passing motorists, state police said.

Traffic cones were set up to ensure no cars pulled over in that area, so the swarming bees could not create a hazard, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos. A beekeeper was expected to arrive in the early evening.

Throughout the spring and summer months, beekeepers across the country truck crates of bees to farms in rural and suburban hamlets, which are released in high heat to fertilize crops.

To capture the bees, Simone said a beekeeper would set up the bee frames in the fallen wooden box -- that could range in size from breadbox to garbage can, depending on whether it was a full-sized colony. The bees would settle in the evening, and return to their man-made hive.